EMPLOYMENT RELATED POLICY ON CHILD ABUSE
1. Each applicant for employment in a position with regular, significant contact with children in the parishes and institutions of the archdiocese must supply to the hiring agent personal information adequate to assess his or her suitability for contact with children. Each applicant must complete and sign the official Applicant's Certification. Each applicant must supply the names of three references, at least one from the most recent employer and none from close friends or relatives.Candidates for ordination to the archdiocese must sign the Applicant's Certification.
2. Hiring agents are to speak with all references provided by applicants for employment and to examine and verify the employment history. They are also to submit all names of applicants to the chancery for a check of the register mentioned below. If circumstances warrant, the hiring agent is encouraged to secure a police check of criminal records.
3. Every parish and institution of the archdiocese is to establish procedures for gathering the information and completing the reference checks mentioned above. All of this information is to be retained in a confidential file at the location of employment until five years after employment ends, at which time all application documents are to be destroyed.
4. The archdiocesan attorney is to maintain a permanent confidential register of all clerics and lay employees and volunteers who have abused children in conjunction with employment or volunteer involvement at parishes and institutions of the archdiocese.
CONTACT WITH CHILDREN
1. Except when civil law explicitly permits certain persons (e.g. licensed social workers) to counsel children without parental consent, a child may receive scheduled, individual instruction or counseling from a cleric, employee or regular volunteer only with the consent of the child's parent or guardian.
2. A child may participate in an organized program sponsored by a parish or institution of the archdiocese only with the written consent of the child's parent or guardian. Such consent should provide for emergency care of the child, as warranted by the program or activity.
3. At least two adults must be present for any activity for children sponsored by a parish or institution of the archdiocese, with the exception of the sacrament of penance and regular day-school or religion classes conducted on the grounds of the parish or institution. Whenever possible, one of the adults should be a parent of a participant.
This policy must be adhered to strictly for any overnight activity. An exception may be made for a daytime activity if, for unanticipated reasons, only one adult can actually be present.
4. No child may be disciplined corporally or corrected with abusive language.
5. A cleric, employee or regular volunteer must obtain the consent of a child's parent or guardian before inviting or allowing the child to visit in the adult's home. In the event that the adult has little or no advance notice of the visit and another adult is present, this consent is not required.
6. No child may visit overnight in a rectory (or other residence of a diocesan priest), or stay overnight with a diocesan priest in any other place, unless in the company of his or her parent or guardian. (An exception can be made when the child is a close relative of the priest, but even this is discouraged.)
7. Pastors, principals, directors of religious education and other administrators are to assure that the policies of schools, religious education programs, athletic and scouting groups, and the like provide for the implementation of the first four policies listed above, including the definition of responsibility for enforcement.
PREVENTIVE INTERVENTION
1. Any cleric, employee or regular volunteer who observes another cleric, employee or volunteer behaving in a manner which may pose a potential risk to a child is to report the matter in confidence to the proper superior or supervisor without delay.
2. The proper superior or supervisor is to deal expeditiously with any situation of potential risk brought to his or her attention. If a serious potential risk is not resolved satisfactorily, the superior or supervisor may take appropriate action, with due regard for personnel policies and due process.
3. A parent, guardian or any adult who observes a cleric, employee or volunteer behaving in a manner which may pose a potential risk to a child is advised to call the matter to the attention of that adult. This may involve calling attention to circumstances which are inappropriate, even though not in themselves abusive, or reminding the person of particular provisions of this Decree, or challenging the person when guilty of affronts to a child. Any adult should not hesitate in reporting concerns confidentially to the proper superior or supervisor, when warranted.
REPORTING OF INCIDENTS OF CHILD ABUSE
1. The State Revised Code requires that any individuals, acting in an official or professional capacity, report immediately any suspected or actual act of child abuse, perpetrated by any person, to the county children's services board or agency or a police officer; anyone else may report suspected or actual child abuse. All clerics, employees and volunteers of the archdiocese are to be familiar with the State Revised Code section (cf. Appendix A). Agents of the archdiocese who are obligated to report to the civil authorities will do so without delay (unless the information is learned through the sacrament of penance).
2. Any cleric, employee or regular volunteer (except licensed counselors, psychologists or social workers when their knowledge is protected by legal privilege and priests when their knowledge is protected by the seal of confession), whether obligated by state law to report to the civil authorities or not, who witnesses an act of child abuse perpetrated by another cleric, employee or volunteer or suspects that such an act has occurred or receives a report of such an act, must report the incident immediately to the chancellor of the archdiocese. If the chancellor is not available, the report is to be made to the archbishop's administrative assistant; if the administrative assistant is not available, the report is to be made to the Director of the Priests' Personnel Office.
3. If the reported incident has not already been reported to the civil authorities, the chancellor, with the assistance of legal counsel, is to determine whether the incident requires reporting in accord with Ohio law. If so, the chancellor will promptly report the incident to the appropriate civil authority and offer the full cooperation of the archdiocese.
The person who made the initial report will be notified by the chancellor whether the incident has been reported to the civil authorities. The reporter, of course, retains the right to report the incident to the appropriate civil authority personally, if this has not already been done.
4. Whether or not the incident requires reporting to the civil authorities, the incident is to be investigated quickly by the chancellor or his delegate. This investigation is to be coordinated with any civil investigation and is to include, whenever possible, interviews with the alleged victim, the victim's parents, the person making the initial report, the accused person and any other person who may have knowledge of the situation. (This investigation is not intended to uncover all other possible cases of abuse perpetrated by the accused person; that aspect of the investigation is left properly to the civil authorities.)
If the charges are substantiated (even if not proven conclusively) the next step below is to be implemented immediately. If it is concluded that the charges of child abuse are unsubstantiated, the original copy of the investigation report is to be placed in a confidential file of the chancery. j All other copies are to be destroyed. The original copy is to be destroyed after ten years. Should the chancellor learn later that the civil authorities have substantiated the charge or if new evidence is uncovered, then the case is to be reopened, and step E below is to be implemented immediately.
A report of the investigation is to be written by the chancellor and distributed to the archbishop and to those other persons the chancellor determines should receive it.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REGARDING ACCUSED PERSON IN SUBSTANTIATED CASE
1. The chancellor will direct the accused person's supervisor to place the person on a leave of absence from any official duties, pending the final resolution of the matter. Regular salary and benefits are to be provided. (The accused person's status should be resolved as soon as possible, pending any criminal proceedings and the long-term response plan of the response team.)
In the case of a priest, in addition to his being placed on a leave of absence, a temporary residence at a distance from the current assignment and without contact with children is to be arranged, if a serious act of child abuse is alleged to have occurred during the current canonical assignment; if the abuse is alleged to have occurred during some prior assignment, the current residence may be maintained until the matter is further resolved. Any accused priest or deacon is to undergo a psychological assessment arranged by the director of the priests' personnel office. All of these actions are to be approved by the archbishop.
2. Unless the case is already well-known, the supervisor, when appropriate, will notify the local church community only that the accused person has taken a leave of absence for personal reasons and for an undetermined time. Care is to be taken to avoid defamation of the character of the accused person.
3. The accused person should seek his or her own legal counsel.
4. The chancellor will direct the archdiocesan attorney to place the name of the accused person on the register mentioned in the Prevention section of this Decree.